Rebecca Simons

film - photography - installation - media - social - video

Rebecca Simons (1981, FIN)

As a multimedia artist, Rebecca Simons wants to break taboos and open conversations. She finds her inspiration in the tension between memories, truths and myths. Through photography, video, sound and text, she deconstructs and reconstructs (family) history, mainly examining the personal and collective memory linked to identity and gender issues. Rebecca's latest long-term project 'Letter from the Past' focuses on abuse in a close relationship. In her work active exchange with actors and audiences is important. She therefore develops collaborative methods, activities and educational programs around her projects.

Letters from the Past Installation - Letters from the Past looks at how to tell the story about sexual abuse without focusing on the abuse itself. In the exhibition and film the viewer is confronted with the complex feelings and dilemmas that the family members face. It takes us on a journey in the now, with interviews and questions between the artist and her family, in combination with images, love letters and the story of the past between the man that once was a charming young man and the love for the woman that would become Rebecca’s grandmother. The juxtaposed stories allow the viewer to slowly take in and reflect on the complex feelings that abuse brings forward, questioning how to re-shape memories and restructure the family story.